It is not the lone incident of attack on the police. A few days ago, an Inspector of the Detective Branch under Dhaka Metropolitan Police Jalal Uddin Ahmed was killed by the criminals when he was conducting an operation to recover two stolen firearms of two Sergeants. Jalal Uddin had received PPM in 2013 for his courageous role and efficiency. In another incident, a group of youths, aged between 15 and 20, riding three motorbikes opened fire on a team of Chittagong Metropolitan Police near Panchlaish Gate No. 2 on February 18. Police claimed the attackers were involved in mugging and opened fire to evade arrest for possessing illegal firearms.
These three incidents make it clear that criminals do not fear the police and they are gradually becoming desperate. The reality is that, the criminals can easily steal police firearms and they even can kill a skilled police official if he tries to recover the stolen weapons.
It was astonishing to know that Jalal Uddin was not alone. He was present with his team. But the criminals did not hesitate to open fire on the armed DB team. Most surprisingly, the criminals have such connections and arrangements so that they can hide themselves in safe places just within minutes after committing the crimes.
The continuous propaganda of the Home Ministry about combating crimes- such as reducing incidents of murder, mugging and drug peddling, is nothing but an eyewash policy of the government. Not only in Dhaka, Chittagong or Mymensingh, the organized criminals are running their illegal businesses and committing various types of crimes almost everywhere in the country where the law enforcement agencies are apparently helpless.
Not only that, raping and killing of women have also appeared as a big problem in the recent days. Two women of the Garo ethnic community were killed by unknown miscreants in the city’s Gulshan area a few days ago. Besides, incidents of murder after gang rape in different rural areas have crossed all limits.
We think it is not enough only to nab the criminals. Here, the law enforcement agencies should focus on the godfathers or patrons of the criminals. Police know the criminals always get political support, perhaps from those with political power. At first the police will have to disconnect the liaison between the political leaders and criminals. Otherwise, the common people will not get the expected result.
